Cableway button-stop.



T. S. MILLER.

OABLBWAY BUTTON STOP.

1 .APPLIOATION FILED 116.211, 1911.

1,031,360. Patented July 2, 1912.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, 0F SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

CABLEWAY BUTTON-STOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 23, 1911.

Patented July 2, 1912. serial No. 645,621.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cableway Button-Stops, of` which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in cableway button stops of that character or type employed in connection with the ropes of cableways to arrest or 'stop the travel of a rope, or the movement of parts traveling on or movable lengthwise of a rope.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a but-ton stop which will be capable of varied application and use wherever such a structure ips-desirable, but which will be particularly adapted for use in connection with the ropes of cableways in which the parts travel at high speed and wherein are employed fall-rope carriers, to arrest the travel of the fall-rope carriers as the carriage or other load supporting device moves lengthwise of the cableway, and to so construct the stop that the fall-rope carrier or the button stop will not be injured by the impact of a carrier against the stop.

A further object is to provide a but-ton stop having associated therewith a lost motion device to yieldingly receive the im- 'pact of thefall-rope carrier and thereby cushion or break the force of the impact.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be fullydescribed hereinafter, and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctlyv claimed.

I have fully and clearly illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings to be taken as a part of this specification, and wherein* p Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a button stop constructed in accordance with my invention applied to a rope of a cableway; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the button stop shown in Fig. 1.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of my invention I would state that it is capable of use in connection with any rope of a cableway where desired, but I will describe the same in connection with the stop rope of a cableway, although I desire it understood that this term stop rope as used hereinafter is not intended as a limitation but merely to designate the rope upon which the stop button is mounted.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, 1 designates arope, as the stop rope,.in connection with which my inven-` tion is employed; 2 designates a member adapted to be fixed to the rope 1, and preferably in the form of a sleeve having an internal longitudinal taper bore 3 to receive said rope, within which rope is located a tapered expansion pin 4, the surface of which lies parallel to the surface of said bore and the purpose of which is to expand the rope 1 into strong frictional engagement with the bore to prevent longitudinal movement of the sleeve on the rope. Surrounding the rope in rear of the fixed sleeve is a thimble 5 having a reduced annular extension 6 projecting into the space between the rear end of said sleeve and the stop rope, and within the said rope in rear of said thimble is an expansion block or spreader 7 to arrest the rearward movement ofthe sleeve and thimble should the sleeve slip rearwardly on the stop rope.

The forward end of the sleeve is provided,

with an annular reduced ortion or collar 8, the mouth of which is lured as shown in Fig. 2 to prevent wearing of the rope at its entrance to the bore of the sleeve, and which extension performs a function to be presently described. The outer surface of the sleeve and thimble are tapered from the front to rear so as to form a substantially continuous tapered surface as clearly shown in the drawing.

Mounted in advance of the fixed sleeve 2 is a lost motion device, preferably in the form of a sleeve 9, being oppositely tapered from an intermediate point toward its ends,`

as at 2n, 2b, and having a longitudinal inter'- nal bore 10 to receive the stop rope l. Formed in the bore is an annular recess or counter-bore 11 having shoulders 12, 13,With which coperates a projection 14: on the stop rope located within said recess, said projection being formed by expanding the cable or rope by means of a spreader block 15 clearly shown in dotted lines in` Fig. 2. This spreader block is of Such size that when in position the diameter of the rope will be a driving fitto the bore of the sleeve so that after the spreader 15 has been inserted in the proper place in the rope the,

movable sleeve 9 may be driven over the same until the spread portion of the rope enters the counterbore or recess 11 where it expands to form the projection described. By the arrangement of the shouldered counterbore 11 and the projection 14 on the rope 1 longitudinal movement of the lost motion sleeve relat-ive to the ropeA is limited in both directions. At its rear portion, or that portion directed toward the forward end of the fixed sleeve 2, the lost motion sleeve 9 is provided with an enlarged bore 16 surrounding the rope, and at the base Yor inner end of which bore is a reduced nipple orv annular extension 17 surrounding the rope, and of such diameter as to leave a space 18 between this outer surface and the inner surface of said bore. Surrounding therope `and having its ends seated upon the nipples on the fixed and movable parts of the button and abutting said parts at its end portions is a strong expansion spring 19 which normally holds the lost motion sleeve away from the fixed sleeve and cushions any movement of said lost motion sleeve toward the fixed sleeve.

The ends of the bore 1() through the lost motion sleeve are flared in order that they will not chafe the rope passing through said bore.

It is thought that the operation of the button as above described will be readily understood by any one skilled in the art, but it may be briefly stated as follows. The inclined or conical surface 2a of the member 9 is the impact surface against which the blow is delivered, given by a fall-rope carrier as the latter is removed from the carriage, or by an element against which the button strikes in limiting the movement of the rope upon which the button is mounted. When the impact is delivered against the impact end of the button the.

element 9 is moved toward the fixed member 2, the resulting compression of 'the spring 19 serving to break or cushion the impact and relieve both the button and the part struck thereby from the full force of the blow. The blow having been delivered,

the expansive force of the spring automatically returns the member 9 to normal position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which position it is ready to again operate in the manner just described. rIhe diameter of the bore 16 is such that it may receive the forward end of the member 2 when the member 9 is moved rearward.

Ilhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A button stop comprising a sleeve member adapted to be fixed to a rope, a sleeve member adapted to slide on a rope both said members having spring seats, and a springv surrounding the rope and seated on said seats.

2. A button stop comprising;r` a lpart adapted to be fixed to a rope, and a lost motion device connected to said part.

3. A button stop comprising a part adapted to be fixed to a rope, and a cushioned lost motion device connected to said part.

4. A button. stop comprising a part adapted to be xed to a rope, a member adapted to slide longitudinally of a rope,

and a cushion between said members.

5. In a button stop, the combination of a rope, a member fixed to the rope, and

another member free to slide longitudinally on the rope, and a spring interposed between the two members.

6. In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a part xed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, and a spring between the said part and member.

7 In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a sleeve fixed to the rope, a sleeve movable longitudinally of the rope, and spring between the said sleeves.

8. In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a part fixed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, a spring between the said part and member, and means for limiting the sliding movement of the movable member.

9. In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a part fixed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, a spring between the said part and member, said movable member having a shoulder, and a stop on the rope coperable with the shoulder to limit sliding movement of said member.

10. In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a part fixed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, a spring between the said part and member, said movable member having spaced shoulders,

sok

and a stop on the rope between said shoulders.

11. In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a part fixed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, a spring between the said part and member, said movable member having an. annular shouldered recess adjacent the rope, and a projection on the rope projecting into said recess.

12. In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a part fixed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, said movable member having a longitudinal bore, and a spring abutting said part and member and housed within said bore.

13. In a button stop, in combination, a rope, a part fixed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, a spring between the said part and member, and

projections on said part and member uponv rope, a part fixed to the rope, a member movable longitudinally of the rope, a spring between the said part and member, and annular projections on said part and member, said projections surrounding the rope, and upon which said spring is seated.

15. In combination, a rope, a member Xed therein, a lost motion member slidable along the rope, a spring between said members, and means for limiting the movement of the lost motion-member away from the Xed member.

16. In combination, a rope, a member fixed tothe rope, a member movable toward and away from the fixed member, and a spring cushioning the movement in one direction of the movable member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER.

Witnesses:

JAS. E. LEDWITH, C. Gr. HEYLMUR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

